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Running Head: Originally Rated NC-17

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A Look at Twenty-Five Films Originally Rated NC-17 Julie M. Schaefer Indiana Wesleyan University

Originally Rated NC-17

When the MPAA formed in the 20’s, films had to be “approved” for audiences. The process was called the Hays Code, and it enforced extensive rules for films in which only the “correct standards of life” could be presented (MPAA). Movie ratings were then updated to set standards, so parents themselves could decide what was right for their children to view. In essence, it was a way to defer younger generations from being negatively influenced by the media. In modern film making, the MPAA has cracked down on many issues like language and violence; however, the main concern seems to lie with sexuality. The rating of NC-17 replaced that of X in 1990 (MPAA), but the cinemas were hesitant to show NC-17 films because of the assumption that the film was of “X”, or pornographic, nature (MPAA). This may not have been the exact case for most films, but the MPAA usually rated them thus because of graphic sexual content represented in the film. Even with the domineering rating of NC-17, one must wonder why the MPAA, theaters, directors, producers, and the audience shy away from these films. Is the sexuality portrayed in the film potent enough to receive an NC-17 rating? What constitutes as sexual content in films today? Sexual content can mean many different things to a range of people and can cover many different aspects of sexuality or nudity in films. In his book, The Naked Truth: why Hollywood doesn’t make X-rated movies, Kevin S. Sandler debates the reason for film ratings, the ratings effect on the film-making society, and sexual content in the modern world of film. Because of the MPAA’s strict regulation on sexual content, directors have to be very careful with the footage they are shooting for a film. The MPAA rated The Cooler, a 2003 film starring William H. Macy and Maria Bello, NC-17 because it showed 36 frames, or one and a half seconds, of pubic hair during a sex scene between the two actors (Sandler 2). Other films such as Dirty Work, Team America, or Showgirls were also

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Originally Rated NC-17

marked high on the rating scale for sexual content, which included suggestive off-screen sodomy in Dirty Work, graphic and crude sexual humor in Team America, and bare-breasted nudity in Showgirls (Sandler 3, 8, 172). Production companies like MGM believed that the combination of NC-17 sexual rawness and a big Hollywood budget would provide viewers with a worthwhile experience in exchange for their time and ticket price (Sandler 172). Sexual content does not always just refer to sex or nudity; it can also include suggestive language. With language, a single occurrence of any of the harsher, sexually derived words, guarantees at least a PG-13 rating, even if the word is used as an expletive (Sandler 128). For example, using the F word with sexual connotations would receive an R rating, but just using the word as an exclamation would have a PG-13 rating. Sexual content in the use of language also faces strong consequences, and is something that directors shy away from in order to keep a lower rating on their films. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times compares the sexual content of the 1972 film, Tango in Paris, to last year’s film Blue Valentine, both rated NC-17 for strong sexual content. Even though both films were rated the same, each contained different types of sexual content. Blue Valentine’s rating was vaguely described as explicit sexual content, meaning that the ratings board had “freaked out at the realism, or perhaps the intimacy” of the sex between the characters (Dargis), which included a nude scene in the shower and oral sex. Tango in Paris, made in 1972 and originally rated NC-17 for sexual content, includes a couple having sex with their clothes on and a full frontal nude shot of a woman (Dargis). Dargis stresses that the movies “still exploit female bodies”, but that the American actresses working in the modern commercial mainstream rarely strip down past their underwear. Even in the past 40 years, sexual content has been regarded as something off limits in the film industry.

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Originally Rated NC-17

Research from the Taylor and Francis Group, LLC was done on how well the MPAA ratings distinguish content. They researched Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence, and Sexual Content and how these categories affected children’s behavior. Specifically, sexual behavior was timed to measure the total number of seconds that kissing, petting, and intercourse were shown on screen, as well as separate variables for male and female nudity (Tickle Beach Dalton 759). A substantial degree of overlap of sexual content in movies was found across all ratings, including benign romantic kissing and sexual intercourse, but the intensity or context of the sexual behaviors was not considered (Tickle Beach Dalton 764, 765). Overall, their results showed that 75.2% of films contained sexual content (Tickle Beach Dalton 760). Sexual content can mean a multitude of things, especially to directors, the audience, and the Motion Picture Association of America. It is a vague term, but it can include kissing, petting, sexual intercourse, sexual behavior, nudity, or explicit suggestive language. Sexual content has always been regarded as off-limits in the film industry; if there is too much of it, directors will not be able to show their film without receiving a rating of R or NC-17. However, in the modern society, sexual content is looked at as thrilling, erotic or intriguing, and often times can help rake in money at the box office. Sexual content is evident in films of every genre, from G to NC-17. As an audience member, it is important to discover what constitutes as “sexual content” and to decide what boundaries, if any, should be put in place to avoid it. It is important to understand how sexual content affects the rating of a film, and in order to really delve into the realm of sexual content in movies, one must look at the movies that were rated NC-17 by the Motion Picture Association of America. Twenty-five films rated NC-17 were “dissected” in order to fully understand the reason for the given ratings. Thorough steps had to be taken in order to acquire the correct finding for the project.

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Originally Rated NC-17

The data for the project has been collected in an observational and numerical approach. Films that were rated NC-17 within the last 25 years have been researched using updated and relevant sources, such as the MPAA’s official website, articles from the New York Times, and other literary sources. The films chosen from each year were based on the best ratings from wellknown critics in the film industry, such as the National Society of Film Critics, New York Film Critics Circle, and Los Angeles Film Critics Association. After a list of the films was finalized, two to four films were watched per week/weekend until the list was completed. During the viewing of the film, sexual content was recorded into six categories; these brackets of sexual content were nudity, which included, but was not limited to, full frontal nudity of male or female, partial frontal nudity of male or female, full back nudity of male or female, or partial back nudity of male or female, whether within sexual intercourse or other situations; sexual intercourse between anyone of the opposite or same sex, whether on or off screen, which included, but was not limited to, vaginal, oral, or anal sex; explicit suggestive language, which included, but was not limited to, using the F-word in a suggestive or explicit sexual manner, using phrases that exemplified the want to interact in sexual intercourse or behavior, describing sexual acts in an explicit way to another person, or talking another person through masturbation; kissing on the mouth or anywhere else on the body during sexual intercourse or in sensual situations; petting, which included, but was not limited to, touching of genitalia, whether within the confines of one’s own body or another, touching of breasts inside or outside of clothing, touching of the face, hand-holding, or hugging; and rape, whether on or off screen. The twenty-five NC-17 films were observed for their sexual content, and the results were recorded in numerical record and collected so that the material could then be analyzed, and the similarities and differences within the brackets of sexual content could be evaluated.

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Originally Rated NC-17

Because of the nature of the films, some of the material was graphic, especially including accounts of rape or other violent sexual struggles. However, most of the films portrayed sex as beautiful, often within the confines of love. The films were not sexually off limit, pornographic material, but rather stories of finding love in all of the wrong places, believing in the love between two people, or using sex as an escape from a harsher reality. An example of using sex to escape reality is in the film Easier with Practice, a story about a socially awkward writer who starts having phone sex with an unknown woman. The film had a few good messages behind it like “things aren’t always what they seem” and “have confidence in yourself”, with the main character growing considerably from his experiences; however, the use of explicit suggestive language in the film, including more than a few accounts of graphic phone sex leading to masturbation, inhibits the viewer of seeing the overall arch in the character development. Overall, there tended to be more nudity in the films than sexual intercourse, most likely due to the fact that an act of sexual intercourse may count as one tally, but that two accounts of nudity are usually shown during one act of sexual intercourse. In the case of Henry and June, the first film to be officially rated NC-17 by the MPAA in 1990 (Parental Guidance), there are scenes where characters walk around nude after sexual intercourse, frontal and back nudity were shown in several different camera shots, and a parade of full body painted nudes walk by in the street. Despite so many occurrences of nudity in the film, the concept of two authors experiencing the erotica that they are so trying to capture in their writings was intriguing and showed true passion for their callings in Paris, a city of erotic nature in itself. One film was not rated NC-17 for sexual content; this was Sante Sangre, a film made in 1989 with a rating for several scenes of extremely explicit violence (Screen Machine). There was one count of brief nudity in the film, but it was disregarded during rating. Another film with little

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Originally Rated NC-17

sexual content was Law Abiding Citizen, originally rated NC-17 for strong, bloody, brutal violence and torture, a scene of rape, and pervasive language (Screen Machine); the film was cut and received an R rating later in 2009. It is debatable that films must contain very strong brutal violence for the MPAA to go as far as an NC-17 rating, and also that brutality is not taken as seriously as sexual content is. Although, even with one rape scene, a film was more likely to be rated NC-17 over R because of sexual content combined with violence, even if the rape was implied off-screen. Kissing and petting had similar results in most recent years; touching of genitalia and breasts were top in the list for petting, usually leading to kissing or sexual intercourse. Also, couples holding hands or hugging led to kissing in recent films. Films after 2005 had more record of kissing than petting, leading to the assumption that the story lines dealt more with kissing leading to sex, rather than petting leading to sex. The chart on page fourteen compares how many times kissing, petting, and sexual intercourse were recorded in each film. The amount of sexual content in films greatly influences the way the film is rated. Twenty-five films were recorded for having at least one account of nudity; twenty-two of the twenty-five films were recorded for having at least one account of sexual intercourse; seventeen of the twenty-five films were recorded for having at least one account of explicit suggestive language; twenty-two of the twenty-five films were recorded for having at least one account of kissing; twenty-one of the twenty-five films were recorded for having at least one account of petting; and five of the twenty-five films were recorded for having at least one account of rape. Two instances were found where the sexual content reached a total of over thirty accounts; another two instances were found where the sexual content reached a total over forty; another one instance was found where the sexual content reached a total over fifty; and another one

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Originally Rated NC-17

instance was found where the sexual content reached a total over sixty. Because of the amount of sexual content found in the twenty-five films, a rating of NC-17 was given by the MPAA in order to defer younger audience members from viewing the material. In essence, sexual content in films creates a rift between the MPAA, directors, producers, and audience members; whereas the artist’s view of sexual content differentiates between that of the viewers.

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Originally Rated NC-17

Appendix General Statistics

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Originally Rated NC-17

10

Explicit Suggestive Language

Suggestive Language 30 25 20 15 10 5

Suggestve Language

0

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. n n o es er .I.E ints ent ling nce ors gre dor L Sa to itze uto h Li ool o l n B a a T t Fa oma e D e Sa C at C Ca k u s n e g c M i r , h t R o t n h T o t T i n T ag id Lus the gh r ue nd Sa Dr A b T Ni oo e e r n B th Law he he th W W i lw

Nudity

Nudity 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

e Th

Gi

r d s n r O E. m ts ss t a g e e e rs e e re r e oo ctc tzenaste uton ate h Lie ato oole of L.I. rea ain ine Ben Sutr allin tqu anc mag oo Jun ngr esi ado t D k S pp Ta Pra Ci r F Ca t R ut uc C ry a F o m a D d Sa D at m t is Er Ro D The an nte of M on ith ing ste st, t Ye e Tr Ed The Sto or a doc Ha a e g K ry a aw igh Tru ra r w bid l, Fa Lu No th Bad The m f on en S L N D l e s A e o e H i i i r e i n u B th as aw ll K m he he eq Fil W th E L Ki W R i s i w Th rl

Nudity

Originally Rated NC-17

11

Sexual Intercourse

Sexual Intercourse 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Sexual Intercourse

g E. ts ce ors gre dor nt o n n er ol L.I. ain Be allin an to itze uto h o a o ta an S T t F om e D n ng C t, Ca Tru e S Ma is eC ck R h t o t h o T i n T d ag d Lus the g h r ue Sa on D r A bi T Ni e o e r n B th Law he he th W W wi s Lie

rl Gi e Th

Nudity vs. Sexual Intercourse 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

r Gi e Th

s r t g e r e E. rs ts oo tzen uton h Lie oole L.I. ain Ben allin anc oo ngr ado t t a S D t m F Ta Ci Ca S C a u is ck M Ro The nte Tr The on ng t, ht u e do ag bidi Lus the g n Sa i r r o T N D A re e n Bo th Law he he h W t W i lw

Nudity Sexual Intercourse

Th e

wi th

th Ea e Dr La sier ago Ki w A wit n Ta ll b h t Th Kill, idin Pra oo is Fa g ctc C Fil m Lu ster itze e W is s F n t he N , C ast re ot au er th Yet to Ba e Tr Rat n d uth ed Ed L Th Theucat ies e S C on Re qu t o iem ory oler of Bo fo O on r a L.I do Dr .E. ck ea Ha Sa m pp int W he in s e n K Ni am B ss gh a en t i Su t s t Tr E Fall ra ue ro ing Ro tqu m e a He ThDamnce nr e ag y D Sa an oo e n d r La te S Juns w a e of ng D re M esi at re ad or

Gi rl

Th e wi th

th Ea e Dr La sier ago Ki w A wit n Ta ll K b h to ill, idin Pra o Th Fa g ctc is Fil s C e m Lu ter itze W is st Fa n he No , C ste re t Y au r th et to n Ba e Tr Rat d uth ed Ed L u i Th The cat es e S C on Re to oo qu iem ry ler of Bo fo O on r a L.I do D .E. ck re Ha Sa am pp int W in s he e n K Ni am B ss e gh a n t i Su t s F tr Tr E alli a ue r o ng Ro tqu m e Da anc He T m e nr he ag y D e Sa and oo r n La te S Juns w a e of ng D r M esi e at re ad or

Gi rl

Originally Rated NC-17 12

Rape

Rape

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5 Rape

0

Kissing

12 10 8 6 4 2 0

Kissing

Kissing

Originally Rated NC-17

13

Petting

Petting 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Th

o e n er n d es n er O E. m ts ss nt ra g e ce e rs e re re r to actc itze ast uto Rate h Li ato ool of L.I. rea Sain ine Be Sut allin tqu an magDoo Junang esi tado a T r t c F a y D k pp a s F ro om Da e nd e S of D Ma n P g C r , C et ru du e C or r a doc Ha Th ry a ant w amht i E e R go with idin asteust ot Y e T d E Th e St o K f a u g n r h L a i F n S La r N b t r T N Th iem Boo is ere B He e D ie A ill, n u e th Eas Law ill K m q h Fil h th K W Re is W wi h l T ir eG

Petting

Originally Rated NC-17

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Kissing vs. Petting

12 10 8 6 4 2 0

e Th

Gi

o e n er n d es n er O E. m ts ss nt ra g e ce e rs e re re r to tc ze st to te Li to ol f .I. ea in ne e ut llin u n ag o un g si do Ta Prac Cit r Fa Cau t Ra uth uca Co ry o L Dr k Sa ppi B a S s Fa rotqoma ame Dond J San f De ata m i E R D Th a nte o M on h ng te t, Ye Tr Ed he to or a oc Ha y e w Ka ight f nd ag wit idi Fas Lus Not the ad T he S r nr Sa La ru b o , D e B T m r N T l s l e A e o e i H i e i r i n B s K e th Ea Law ill qu he ilm h K W Re ith sF W i w Th rl

Sexual Intercourse vs. Kissing vs. Petting

Kissing Petting

Th e wi th

th Ea e Dr La sier ago Ki w A wit n Ta ll b h t Th Kill, idin Pra oo is Fa g ctc Fil s C m Lu ter itzee W is s F n he N t, C ast re ot au er th Yet to Ba e Tr Rat n d uth ed Ed L Th Theucat ies e S C on Re qu t o iem ory oler Bo fo of O on r a L. do D I.E. ck re Ha Sa am W pp int he in s e n K Ni am B ss gh a en t i Su t s t Tr E Fall ra ue ro in Ro tqu g m e a He T Damnce nr he ag y D e Sa and oo r La nte Jun s w Sa e of ng D r M esi e at re ad or

Gi rl

Originally Rated NC-17

10

5

0

Total Results

15

35

30

25

20

15

Sexual Intercourse Kissing Petting

16

Originally Rated NC-17

Total Sexual Acts 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

e Th

r Gi

n n o es er .I.E. ints ent ling nce ors gre dor to itze uto h Li ool o l L Sa B a a ta an T Fa om e D C Ca rut e C k s n g e S Ma i c , h R t o t n T t T h o i s n T d ag id g h r ue Lu the Sa on Dr A b T Ni e o e r n B th Law he he th W W i lw

List of Films Watched

Total Sexual Acts

Originally Rated NC-17

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Easier with Practice Law Abiding Citizen Kill Kill Faster Faster Lust, Caution This Film is Not Yet Rated Where the Truth Lies Bad Education Mysterious Skin The Cooler The Story of O L.I.E Requiem for a Dream The Boondock Saints Happiness Bent Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love When Night is Falling

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Originally Rated NC-17

Erotique True Romance Damage The Doors Henry and June Sante Sangre Law of Desire Matador

18

Originally Rated NC-17

References Dargis, M. (2007). A Cad and a Femme Fatale Simmer. New York Times, 21. Dargis, M. (2011, February 13). The Closing of the American Erotic. New York Times. p. 3. "Informing Parents, Protecting Artistic Freedom." Film Ratings. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. . Potts, R., & Belden, A. (2009). Parental Guidance: A Content Analysis of MPAA Motion Picture Rating Justifications 1993–2005. Current Psycholo...